This used to be the position developing nations took at international climate negotiations: rich countries got rich burning coal and oil. Why should we sacrifice our economic development for the good of future generations? Despite Mary Robinson’s plea that poor countries would better meet their aspirations using renewable energy to save the world from climate chaos, they’d reply, “We’d rather get rich now, thank you, even if we all roast later.” Or sooner: 2016 was the hottest year ever recorded. But if people are hungry and don’t yet have the luxury of worrying whether their second house should be in the Azores or St Moritz, you can see the logic, robustly urged on by the coal companies. Coal miners in West Virginia and Pennsylvania said much the same in electing this Administration: we don’t care about the climate, we want our jobs.

The biggest user of energy, China, is becoming the world’s renewable energy powerhouse. Growing its installed solar capacity two orders of magnitude in four years, China went from .3GW in 2009 to 3.3GW in 2011 and 13GW by 2013, with 30 GW of solar planned for 2017, alone. China still burns a lot of coal, but its Green Horizons program has committed to clean the air in its cities cut carbon intensity 40 to 45% by 2020, and make the country 85% renewable by 2045. In 2015, Chinese coal imports fell by 42% from a year before, and have continued to fall to today.

Guatemala

The renewable future is inevitable, as hundreds of entrepreneurs around the world bring renewable electricity to ranchers like me, but also to the poorest people on the planet. Take the example of Juan Rodriquez, whose company Quetsol, sells solar electric light to thousands of Guatemalan villagers beyond the reach of the grid at prices less than they had been paying for kerosene or other fuels. He bundles solar panels, light, and phone charging into a mobile money system that connects poor villagers to modern finance, empowering and enriching their lives.

SELCO, India, the Solar Electric Light Company, is delivering a renewable future today not as aid, but as a $3 million a year business, with no government subsidies. SELCO sells solar panels that provide lighting and electricity to poor villagers at monthly prices comparable to what they would pay to use traditional, less effective sources.

By 2016, the U.S. had more than 2.5 million workers in clean energy. Of these, almost 2 million worked in energy efficiency, manufacturing and installing more efficient lights, appliances and advanced materials. Advanced vehicles employed another 170,000 workers, including 55,000 making electric vehicles, and 53,000 making hybrids. Bob Keefe, Executive Director of Environmental Entrepreneurs observed.

Clean energy is a huge part of our workforce and our economy. Smart policies helped jump-start this industry, and smart policies would keep these made-in-America jobs growing—and help our environment along the way.